19 February 2007
Chilly Monday on the Ross Sea
Posted by Dave, on the Esperanza
The Nisshin Maru and Oriental Bluebird
near Antarctic ice
© Greenpeace/Beltra
Well, it's a chilly Monday morning here in the Ross Sea. The Esperanza is still standing by the broken-down Nisshin Maru, which was disabled by fire on Thursday. The Nisshin Maru drifted 31 nautical miles north overnight - away from the ice pack, but no farther away from the pristine west coast of the Ross Sea.
The other six ships in the whaling fleet are also here - the factory ship, the re-supply and refueling vessel Oriental Bluebird and three catcher boats. The two survey/sighting vessels, including the Kaiko Maru (the ship which issued a recent distress call) arrived early yesterday. On Saturday, the US Coast Guard vessel Polar Sea stopped by very briefly, but hasn't been seen since.
We're in regular contact with the whaling fleet, and have provided them with information on ice conditions (we're sending the helicopter up regularly to assess the movement of the ice). The ice had moved three miles closer during the first 24 hours here - and the entire Ross Sea freezes over in winter - and we don't want the stuck here.
Yesterday the weather wasn't great - not so bad by Southern Ocean standards, but the wind picked up, visibility detoriated, and the temperature dropped to -5C (23F). I'm sure it's probably colder in other parts of the world right now - but bear in mind, it's summer here, and I'm not factoring in any wind chill...
The Ross Sea is pretty calm right now - let's hope the weather holds, the last thing we need here is an increased risk of an oil spill due to rough weather conditions.
We're continuing to offer assistance to the Nisshin Maru, and that includes towing, if necessary. We're also urging the Japanese authorities to do the right thing - that is, whatever is required to get the Nisshin Maru of the Ross Sea as soon as possible. If the weather starts packing in - literarally, which is fairly likely in Southern Ocean conditions, a ship the size of the Nisshin Maru can easily founder and sink and with an estimated 1000 tons of oil on board. It's time for the suits in Tokyo to decided between saving face, or facing a major environmental disaster.
And in case you wondering, there's no whaling taking place in the Southern Ocean right now.
- Dave
Comments
"And in case you wondering, there's no whaling taking place in the Southern Ocean right now."
Any chance that part of the reason why they keep the fleet there is because they chartered another factory ship to at least recover some more of their season? Maybe to have it working together with the "reefer/tanker"?
One doesn't need that much more as a ramp, a place to cut-up the dead whale in smaller pieces and a factory / packing line isn't it? Pretty much like a "standard" factory stern-trawler...
The "Tomi Maru 86" (http://www.southport.co.nz/portsider/trawler7.jpg) or the "Tomi Maru 87" (http://www.southport.co.nz/portsider/trawler7.jpg) for example. Both of these - rather small compared to the Nisshin Maru, but just examples- Japanese factory trawlers have a history of IUU fishing so a bit of southern ocean whaling wouldn't be so different for them...
Posted by: Pepijn at February 19, 2007 2:36 AM
I hope you're taking regular water samples, at all points around Nisshin-maru.
Is Oriental bluebird taking onboard the "product" as occurred last year? Any sign of fuel transfer?
NHK News 7 in tokyo has broadcast none of this on air.
Posted by: pragmatic at February 19, 2007 4:22 AM
Great to know that you are still there keeping a watch over the crippled whaling ship. Let's hope the weather stays calm and that all of you guys are safe.
Pepijn, while NHK aired a brief news segment about the fire onboard the Nisshin Maru on Friday morning, it is a scandal that they are not reporting much about this tremendous failure and loss-of-face for Japan.
Which makes blogs like this one even more important!
Posted by: Martin F at February 19, 2007 5:40 AM
Thank you MARTIN F for your confirmation that the incident is not receiving media exposure in Japan. In Australia, SBS television re-broadcasts various international News-Reports daily. NHK-7 news is broadcast at 0525 AEST. It's coverage seems very parochial; just a token amount of international news, the rest is talking heads in suits, traffic accidents, and baseball.
Your blog:
Posted by: pragmatic at February 20, 2007 5:39 AM
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